I know a few chemists who have done a great deal of good in their profession, but I admire more those who do good with their life, often despite their profession and the spooky image we have for much of the world.

I don't know any more about this fellow than what is written in this article but I can well appreciate what he apparently has done for a few young people.

I owe the continuation of my career to someone like him, who took the time to encourage me in my profession when I was ready to quit.

APPLAUSE!

R

As the saying goes

One man can change the world.

And he did.

I've found another one, imperfect though he may be. Daniel Carleton Guydusek has done, or facilitated, research that has earned him a Nobel prize; and whose work may eventually save millions - or even billions of lives - if it has not already.

I would not want my child, natural or adopted, to be exposed to a sexual predator; and being from an underdeveloped or tiny minority low-tech culture would not change my mind about that. Most of our childhoods were spent as impoverished as commpared to, say, a Bill Gates.And that is what these children's wealth was in comparison to Dr. Guyusek; and his excuses about Greek society, and the fact that he supported these children financially do not justify taking advantage of that dependency to extort sexual favors from those who cannot protest without severe financial consequences. The fact that one of them eventually testified against him is probably the result.

However the importance of his influence in the discovery and understanding of prions is of such a magnitude that the loss of this intellect is incalculable. It cannot be known what more he might have accomplished in his field had he been able to continue his travel and research freely; the challenge of continual vetting by exposure of ones ideas and thoughts to the rigorous perusal of colleagues is a necessary part of scientific research. We make a great deal about privacy in our society. And it is true that isolation from the hubbub of modern technology can allow space for deeper and better thought. But only exposure allows good growth.

First, did Gajdusek ever consider himself gay? Second, the man was unrepentant about sexually molesting the boys from Papua New Guinea that he "adopted." Please. There are countless other unsung heroes out there. D. Carleton Gajdusek may have received the Nobel Prize (and it was Stanley Prusiner who named and identified "prions"), but he isn't one of them. Even linking him to "gay" men and gay people is insulting. But that's my humble opinion. Others may disagree.

If we are going to revive this thread, I would be remiss without mentioning all those who marched recently protesting the Prop Hate vote in California. Gay or straight, those are my new unsung gay heros. Thank you to all those who marched in cities throughout this country. You all make me proud to be an American.

Dr. Guydusek's contribution to the history of Prion research was to show for the first time that it could be infectious as a disease kuru in humans.

In applying western standards of morality to Fore tribe of New Guinea we may be misunderstanding both them and Guydusek. The former had different moral beliefs about male-to-male sex, and the later was a member of a western society that condemned it.

Guydusek should have known better however than to assume there was no coersion in what he did.

That does not change the importance of his discovery in my eyes.

I may be an atheist, but I'll nominate Bishop Gene Simmons of New Hampshire for all our religious bros/sis'.